31. Herbert Hoover/Alex Rodriguez: Immensely qualified, but a failure due to lack of human touch.

32. Franklin Roosevelt/Muhammad Ali: Came on the scene in turbulent times, re-invented himself midstream, accomplished great things and stayed a little too long. But regarded as one of the best of all-time, and image only enhanced by some great one-liners. (borrowed)

33. Harry Truman/Dale Murphy: Still waiting to be fully appreciated.

34. Dwight D. Eisenhower/Mike Ditka: Was great in the field. Was pretty good in charge after that.

35. John F. Kennedy/Bo Jackson: Celebrated beyond his contributions because of brief flashes of greatness and & an early exit. Image bigger than feats.

36. Lyndon Johnson/Bill Russell: Not popular. Not personable. Not polished. But remembered far more fondly as years go by for his accomplishments aside from his personality. (borrowed)

37. Richard Nixon/Pete Rose: Perhaps one of the best if he could only get out of his own way. (partially borrowed)

37. (bonus) Richard Nixon/Roger Clemens: “Nope. Did nothing wrong. Oh, you have proof? No, you don’t. My fingers are in my ears, and I can’t hear what you’re saying anymore.”

38. Gerald Ford/Bill Buckner: Probably better than remembered, but only leaves lasting image of a gaffe (Ford was portrayed as clumsy from news clips).

40. Ronald Reagan/Derek Jeter: Sure, they were quite good at what they did. But often made it look better than it was, and therefore idealized as one of the best ever.

41. George H.W. Bush/Steve Young: “I’m not as good as the last guy, but I’m not bad either.”

42. Bill Clinton/Michael Vick: “No, I didn’t do that. OK, yeah, I did. And I would probably still be doing it if you hadn’t caught me. But admit it, you still like me. And you know I’m good at this job.”

MURFREESBORO – MTSU fans, did you catch that public plea from men’s basketball coach Kermit Davis after Thursday night’s win over Tulane?

Here’s a snippet:

“I hope our crowd picks up. Guys, we are 41-5 (in conference play) over the last three years,” Davis said. “There are only two teams that have won more conference games in the country than us over the last three years. We’ve got to get more people in the stands to see these guys play. They deserve it.

“They deserve a big crowd, a raucous crowd. It doesn’t guarantee anything, but it sure gives us a better chance.”

Davis first made that plea during his post-game press conference, and he took it a step further during his wrap-up on the Blue Raider Network. The stat he was referencing was one tirelessly searched by MTSU men’s basketball sports information director Katie Parker and some sharp interns.

Here are the nuts and bolts of what they found:

CONFERENCE RECORDS (AND WIN PCT.) IN DIVISION I OVER PAST THREE SEASONS

Davis’ point was that MTSU fans need to show up as if they have ownership of one of the recently winningest programs in college basketball – because that’s exactly what they have. Yet the attendance of Thursday’s win over Tulane was only 4,098.

Davis made the point numerous times that he wasn’t looking for recognition of his coaching wins, but rather a strong sign of support from the Blue Raider faithful for the winningest group of players in MTSU basketball history.

On Saturday (1 p.m.), the call will be answered – for better or worse – when MTSU takes on Southern Miss at Murphy Center. Both teams are amid a four-way tie for first place in Conference USA.

The Blue Raiders have won six straight games to climb to the top of the standings. Southern Miss (coached by former MTSU assistant Donnie Tyndall) is looking to stay in the at-large pool for an NCAA tournament bid.

There will be plenty of suggestions from all corners of the Tennessee Titans universe about the franchise’s next coach after Mike Munchak’s firing.

To make everyone happy, going with a week-to-week coaching carousel might be the best solution. Here’s a good place to start, using the Titans’ 16 opponents for the 2014 season:

PRESEASON
Each member of One Direction – They play these games in London now anyway, right? But there are five members and four preseason games, so Liam and Zayn can share duties in the last one (those two are so stuck up anyway).

HOME GAMESvs. Houston – Vandy coach James Franklin. You know he’d do it – or at least would tell people he wasn’t doing it, then get caught in LP Field traffic on a Sunday morning, get spotted by a Vandy fan (in a Lexus, no doubt) and scare them half-to-death by being in the vicinity of another job. Franklin would then get off the exit, return home and find a contract extension in his mailbox.

vs. NY Giants – Keith Bulluck. New York resident can ride on Giants’ charter, not tell them he’s Titans head coach for the week, peruse the NYG gameplan. Somehow suit up for one third down and get a pick-6.

vs. NY Jets – Jake Locker. Why not? Love the guy, but it’s not like he’ll be playing this late in the schedule.

at Indianapolis – Tee Martin. He is accustomed to winning more at Peyton’s place than Peyton ever did.

at Jacksonville – Tim Tebow. Only way he is allowed in stadium. Following win, signed as Jags QB. Wins 10 games for Jacksonville, passes for 41 yards total (39 in fourth quarter) in a 7-6 playoff win, points to heavens, cut from team after AFC title game. Official reason: “Poor arm angle.” Tebow says he forgives them (of course he does).

at Baltimore – Former Riverdale High School coach Gary Rankin (now at Alcoa). Guaranteed win. No doubt. Count it. Book it. Impossible to lose. (About 50 Murfreesboro natives think this is the only serious suggestion of the blog).

at Cincinnati – Phil Fulmer. He’s good for a W anywhere close to Kentucky.

at Philadelphia – Guy dressed as a 6-foot-4 Rottweiler. And Michael Vick thought Nick Foles was his biggest problem.

My participation in the Harris Poll, like the poll itself, is now over. All parts of the BCS – including the Harris Poll, which makes up one-third of the standings – will be replaced by the new college football playoff format next season.

I have been one of 105 voters on the Harris Poll for the past two years, from covering both the Sun Belt Conference and Conference USA. It’s been fun, informative and educational, although I will not miss the time I spent late each Saturday night and Sunday morning taking notes on strength of schedule, quality wins and other factors to figure out the 25th best team in FBS (that was more difficult than picking No. 1).

Auburn winning and Ohio State losing made my final poll far easier to submit. Anyway, here is my final Harris Poll Top 25 ballot, which I submitted on Sunday morning:

Auburn’s upset of No. 1 Alabama in the Iron Bowl on Saturday made the polls more interesting and debatable.

For my poll, the debate was ultimately decided by Ohio State’s 12-0 record – at least in a comparison with Auburn for the No. 2 spot – rather than an impressive overall resume for the Tigers (11-1).

It appears most of the other 104 Harris Poll voters agreed with me, although by a slim margin. Ohio State holds a small lead over Auburn in the cumulative Harris Poll – which makes up one-third of the BCS standings.

The conference championship games could add even more intrigue to the No. 2 spot. Ohio State plays Michigan State in the Big Ten title game. Auburn faces Missouri in the SEC championship.

MURFREESBORO – The season is winding down, but it’s never too late for a Top 25 shakeup. Saturday’s games between several ranked teams did just that.

The Harris Poll makes up one-third of the soon-to-be extinct BCS standings, and I am a second-year member as one of 105 Harris Poll voters (that means this poll makes up about 0.32 percent of BCS standings).

This week, we talk to Southern Miss beat writer Patrick Magee, from the Biloxi Sun Herald. Here is our conversation:

SPARKS: Southern Miss is a proud program and a perennial winner. So how has it gone 0-12 and 0-10 in 2 years?

MAGEE: I know it sounds cliché, but it’s truly been the perfect storm at Southern Miss. There have been three head coaches in three seasons in Hattiesburg, and it’s obvious that the university made a mistake when it hired Ellis Johnson to replace Larry Fedora, who left for North Carolina following a 12-2 season in 2011. Johnson’s one year proved disastrous and current coach Todd Monken has a much bigger mess on his hands than anyone could have imagined. The lack of continuity in the program has prevented players from developing over the last three years. Countless injuries, grades casualties … you name it, USM has had to endure it. USM had 18 winning seasons prior to Johnson’s arrival, and now it’s become a hard luck program.

SPARKS: I saw something online a couple of weeks ago where the USM student body staged an event where they showed support for the team. So is the fan base still behind this team?

MAGEE: Monken and the team still have the general support of the community. There’s no doubt there are some fans in full panic mode, but the more reasonable supporters understand that this is going to involve a major rebuilding project. Attendance has begun to really nose dive. After about 20,000 showed up to watch the team lose 55-14 to North Texas on homecoming, about half that number watched the 41-7 loss to Florida Atlantic last week.

SPARKS: Has this coaching staff been given a mulligan to fix whatever problems were there before this season?

MAGEE: There’s already been one change on the staff with offensive line coach Pete Perot being replaced, and there’s the potential for more changes on the way. However, it’s unlikely that there will be drastic changes on the staff as a whole. Monken has the reputation of being an offensive guru, so it’s understandable that he would be impatient with a lack of production on offense. Monken will be given time to get it right, and it’s fair to assume that he will get a chance to fulfill his four-year contract unless things continue to get worse in the next couple of years.

SPARKS: In all honesty, stats reveal little about what this team is good at. Despite the lopsided losses, USM has to be good at something. What is it?

MAGEE: That’s a good question. The team’s strengths are often masked by problems in other areas. USM has a quality group of running backs, but they’ve been given little chance to succeed thanks to the woeful play of the offensive line. Senior defensive tackle Khyri Thornton is an NFL prospect and junior safety Emmanuel Johnson plays as hard as anybody you’ll see. Numerous injuries have gutted USM’s best units on offense and defense.

SPARKS: If USM was to win this game, how would it do it?

MAGEE: Southern Miss needs to force three to four turnovers on defense and find some way to protect freshman quarterback Nick Mullens and establish a ground game. Thanks to injuries and inexperience, USM needs a lot of help from the opponent right now.

BONUS: Briefly, how do you see this game playing out? Give a score prediction, if you like.

MAGEE: I see Middle Tennessee earning a convincing win Saturday. Logan Kilgore should have a nice day throwing the ball for MTSU.
Final score: MTSU 45, USM 16

Stanford’s loss to USC was the obvious shake-up in all the polls, including my Harris Poll Top 25 ballot this week.

I dropped Stanford from No. 5 to 11 and moved Auburn up to sixth with the Nov. 30 Iron Bowl against No. 1 Alabama drawing closer. Two unbeaten mid-majors – Northern Illinois (10-0) and Fresno State (9-0) – are nearing my Top 10, but not there yet.

Ole Miss and Duke both debuted in my poll. It gives the SEC seven teams in my rankings and rewards the Blue Devils for an exceptional ACC season (including Saturday’s win over Miami).

For me, this was the hardest poll to finish off in the 23-25 spots. I have about 10 teams on stand-by for those slots.

I am one of 105 voters in the Harris Poll – which makes up one-third of the BCS rankings.

The polls got very interesting this week, and my Harris Poll ballot was no exception.

My top 10 (and especially top 5) underwent a makeover this week with Stanford’s win over Oregon and Baylor’s drubbing of Oklahoma.

I moved Baylor from No. 6 all the way to Oregon (and the Ducks flip-flopped, dropping to No. 6). The cumulative panel disagreed with me slightly, as the overall Harris Poll put Ohio State at No. 3 and Baylor at No. 4.

The Harris Poll makes up one-third of the BCS standings. Here is my ballot for this week:

MURFREESBORO – MTSU enters its 10th contest of the season vying for bowl eligibility. One more win will reach the mark, and 1-7 FIU comes to town.

The Golden Panthers are under the guidance of first-year coach Ron Turner. To learn a little more about this FIU squad, we posed five questions to FIU beat writer David Neal of the Miami Herald. Check out his insightful blog about FIU sports at http://miamiherald.typepad.com/fiusports.

Here is our conversation:

SPARKS: FIU coach Mario Cristobal’s firing last year shocked a lot of people around the Sun Belt. Now amid a struggling season in Ron Turner’s debut year, is there any frustration over Cristobal’s departure among the fan base?

NEAL: You’ve got fans still so angry over the Cristobal firing and the continued employment of athletic director Pete Garcia that they’ve reduced their support of FIU football to posting on message boards. You’ve got fans still angry, unhappy with Garcia, skeptical about Turner, but realizing that’s not going to change anything and hoping for the best. And you’ve got a few fans who think Cristobal had peaked and it was time for FIU to move on. Maybe not to Ron Turner, but to move on.

SPARKS: What type of obstacles and changes have come about in Turner’s debut season?

NEAL: Oh, the usual. Remember wide receiver Willis Wright and Glenn Coleman, who each had a touchdown and over 100 yards receiving against Middle last year? Willis, who almost got into the end zone on the final play, was closer there to getting the job done than he or Glenn were in the classroom. They’re academically ineligible. So is FIU’s best cornerback, junior Richard Leonard. Running back Kedrick Rhodes, a 1,000-yard back in 2011, is now at West Alabama after he shot guns into the air on campus while alcoholically impaired. That’s a felony, even in Florida. A number of other players have been academically ineligible or had other issues.

SPARKS: What’s the QB situation? Jake Medlock always seemed like a real steady leader and a tough guy. But EJ Hilliard was given his shot last week. Where is that position now with FIU?

NEAL: Medlock has never really looked comfortable in this offense, though he declared before the season he played in a similar offense in high school. He’s been far less accurate this year, suffered a concussion against Bethune-Cookman and possibly again against Southern Mississippi (officially, it wasn’t). Hilliard needs to improve his decision-making somewhat and he takes a number of sacks. But, overall, last week, the offense looked better with Hilliard than it had with Medlock in a while.

SPARKS: What’s the key to getting FIU back on track in the next couple of seasons?

NEAL: Recruiting and vigilance. They need more game breakers on offense, better linebackers on defense. They’ve got guys with speed at wide receiver, but not guys who know how to use that speed. Vigilance in coaches and player leaders making sure guys take care of business in the classroom and stay away from foolishness outside of it. Turner would like to recruit players who don’t need that extended parenting. And I’d like to win the lottery.

SPARKS: How do you see this game playing out? Give a score prediction, if you like.

NEAL: Middle getting a lead early, then learning from the UAB game, packing the box and daring Hilliard to beat them. Middle 31, FIU 14.